19 



he was sure Mr. Walpole did not mean, when referring to 

 patronage, to means of transit being facihtated by the 

 granting of a certain amount of loans. It was the most mis- 

 chievous thing that any person in Ireland was to be kept 

 up by public loans or public works, at the same time it 

 would be wrong for any Irishman to deny that the Baroness 

 Burdett-Coutts had done a great deal for Irishmen in the 

 south of Ireland. She had expended i^ 10,000 in his friend's 

 locality ; the people paid 10 per cent, on the loans, and 

 paid it willingly. He trusted that two things would 

 happen as the result of this Conference, first that people 

 would be convinced that something beyond competition by 

 water was required ; and, secondly, that no sort of patron- 

 age or assistance should be given beyond what was legally 

 right. On his part, and on the part of his friends in 

 Ireland, he earnestly thanked the Committee for these 

 Papers, and only wished that the opportunity was more 

 appreciated by his countrymen who called themselves 

 patriots, and who certainly ought to take advantage of 

 such opportunities for advancing the interests of their 

 country. 



Mr. Sayer said it was quite true, as the last speaker had 

 said, that the carriage of mackerel was ten shillings a box, 

 or five pounds a ton, and steamers had been put on for 

 bringing mackerel from the west of Ireland and Skibbereen 

 to the London markets, and the mackerel was brought 

 until it was sold for less than the railway carriage. The 

 carriage of a hundredweight of mackerel was lOs., and 

 he had seen it sold as low as 8s. ; so that Billingsgate 

 could take any amount of fish. During his experience of 

 forty years, he had never known too much fish to come 

 there. All they wanted was the approaches \videned 

 and the railway rates reduced, when there was no doubt 

 [14] C 2 



